Danville Area Community College’s (DACC) first apprenticeship was developed in Mechatronics with thyssenkrupp Presta (now ThyssenKrupp Dynamic Components) in 2015.  Samuel came to DACC and Vermilion County Works (VCW), the WIOA Title I provider, in July of 2019 as a new employee for ThyssenKrupp. The company had recently started a Registered Apprenticeship program and had approached VCW for assistance with getting the program off the ground. Samuel started classes at DACC toward his Mechatronics certificate while working at TK at the same time to acquire hands-on skills. VCW was able to provide assistance in paying for his tuition, fees and books for his classroom portion of training. Additionally, VCW provided Samuel with a complete set of mechanics’ tools for worksite training. Samuel successfully completed his Mechatronics certificate in July of 2020, and was able to complete his required work hours in December of 2021 to earn his Journeyman certificate of completion. Samuel continues working as a technician for TK, and his training journey is a testament to the value of registered apprenticeships in workforce training.

DPI worked with City Colleges of Chicago and Cognizant, our employer partner, to create a 16-week pre-apprenticeship program. The program is being offered through Wilbur Wright's Continuing Education department and meets online every Wednesday evening and in-person every Thursday evening and Saturday mornings. Upon successful completion of the program, the pre-apprentices have the opportunity to interview with Cognizant and be hired as a fulltime apprentice, with a starting wage of $25 an hour. 

Margarita had a dream of becoming a teacher; her second dream was to become a Chef. For several years she taught at Evanston High School in the bilingual program for special education.

Margarita took some time to take care of her fourth grandchild, and when her grandchild grew up, she returned to the workforce. She took a job working for Subway for two years and then she worked at a Greek restaurant until she was hired at Northwestern University (NWU) as a Cook.

While working for NWU, Margarita started the process of applying to culinary school and the pandemic happened, so she was not able to enroll at that time. She continued to work as a cook at NWU and ran across an announcement from UNITE HERE Chicago Hospitality Institute (UHCHI) offering a no-cost
8-week intensive culinary program; she applied, and Margarita was accepted into the July 2021 cohort for the UHCHI Apprenticeship program.

Everyone knew right away that Margarita was a serious person and was taking this opportunity seriously. She was diligent in the training: arrived early daily, asked questions during lectures, provided feedback during kitchen lab and she was a great team player in the kitchen. Margarita was committed and ended up being a shining start in the program. You could see she was proud to be on this journey towards becoming a Chef de Partie.

Margarita successfully completed the 8-week intensive culinary program with UHCHI in September 2021. By the end of the program, she remained serious and confident, but there was a different type of confidence and warmth present; Margarita realized she had achieved a long-awaited goal!

Margarita’s husband joined her at the UHCHI banquet in March 2022 and announced she had recently been promoted to a Lead Cook role at Northwestern University. She had worked there for four years as a cook and with incremental raises, she was earning $15.45/hour. Margarita is now earning $22.88/hour in her new Lead Cook position. She now has weekends off and can spend time with her husband and family.

Margarita is proud of what she learned while in the program. She feels more knowledgeable and organized in her work, and at the age of 61, she feels accomplished. She is proud of her accomplishments and shared that the quality of her work is so much better, which makes her even more proud. Margarita is encouraging others to take advantage of the training being offered by UHCHI, “It is available to everyone, so don’t miss the moment.”

Samuel Hinkle completed the IL Laborers’ & Contractors Construction Craft Prep Program in 2021.  This program allowed Sam to attend classes each day of the week for a two (2) hour time period at our Marion Training Facility, during both his Junior and Senior years of high school.

Construction Craft Prep Program students are essentially taught many of the same courses as our Construction Craft Laborer Apprentices, during this two-year period of attendance.  Students receive credit from their participating high school, as well as credit from our Training Fund for attendance and successful completion.

Upon graduation from High School applied for our Construction Craft Laborer Apprenticeship Program through Laborers Local #773 in Marion, Illinois, and was accepted in early March 2022.  Due to Sam’s completion of the CCPP program, he was able to be credited with 320 of the required 480 hours of related training needed by our apprentices. 

In addition, Sam is also able to use these credits obtained and apply those for completion of the Construction Laborers Associate Degree Program with Shawnee College in Ullin, Illinois.

Sam is a great example of how our CCPP program, and excellent partnerships with his High School and Shawnee Community College will be providing another highly skilled laborer to Southern Illinois.